Kamishibai Man By Allen Say (2005)

This story is full of tradition and storytelling. I enjoyed reading about the tradition of the kamishibai man who rode his bike into town to tell stories to local children and sell them sweets. The author's note about his memories of the kamishibai man was neat to read to see where the story had come from.

As a teacher I would use this book to discuss traditions in other cultures. In older classrooms you could discuss the history of Japan and of the kamishibai man, and the role it played in the authors life. Discussing the history of Japan and kamishibai men could lead to good discussions in the classroom. In younger classrooms you could discuss any traditions they have and talk about the traditions in Japan. Some questions to ask the class could be: why did the children stop coming to the kamishibai man and how did he feel about it? Why did he decide to go out after so long? What impact on the children did he have?